Greatness from Small Beginnings: Book I
by LoveThatFandom
Summary: Alexandria Lewis has been friends with Nathan Drake for as long as she can remember. And at fifteen years of age, the two of them find themselves in Colombia with a weird opportunity from a man named Victor Sullivan. Little did they know that this opportunity would throw them on the fastest roller coaster of their lives to the mountains of Japan in search of a prized treasure.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

She always saw him but never met him. He was always standing out more than the others, getting in trouble when he shouldn't and sneaking out when he thought that no one was watching. But she was.

Because of the separation between boys and girls at the Saint Francis home, she only really saw him from afar. The boy's home stood across from the girl's home with a sizable gap between the two. The only time the two of them ever mixed was on retreats or other special occasions, though she never really saw him on any of them. She figured it was because he seemed to like to get in trouble. Even in the girl's home, the news of the boy would travel among the nuns.

His name was Nathan Morgan and she was fascinated by him.

He was always different than the others, seeming to want adventure and trouble more than the other kids. Many times, she had seen him from her window sneaking out at night and quite literally scaling the buildings until he was out of sight. She didn't know where he went, but the thought of getting out of this place, even for just a little while, seemed so appealing to her. However, she didn't know where to start or where to go, so she was left to watch from afar in her room and hope that one day she would be able to do the same.

It was on a church retreat that she was finally able to meet him for the first time.

She wasn't expecting to see him there, given that he almost always was in trouble for something and wasn't allowed to go. It wasn't until later in the day when they were all given a bit of free time that she decided she wanted to meet him.

He was sitting up in a tree, receiving glares from the rest of the nuns, though he didn't seem to care. His right hand grasped the branch above him and he stood with his hip cocked out as he looked over the large area, almost as if he was seeking something out. It piqued her curiosity. What was going on inside that head of his?

So against her better judgement, she slipped away from the others over to the tree, looking up at him for a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked, craning her neck to get a better look at him.

He seemed to be jolted out of whatever was going on in his head and he looked around for a moment before spotting her down below him. He knelt down, letting go of the branch he was holding and leaning against the trunk for support.

"Just...looking," he responded with a shrug.

She glanced around, noticing that the nuns had gotten momentarily distracted by one of the other boys who had scraped his knee.

"Can I come up?"

He seemed taken aback by her question and didn't respond for several moments.

"Yeah...yeah sure! There's a rock on the other side of the tree, makes it easier to get up."

She responded with a small smile and made her way around to the other side, shooting an annoyed look down at the skirt she was forced to wear before climbing atop the rock. Though she was short, the rock gave her the added height and she was able to grab onto the lowest branch. She didn't have much upper body strength, but she was able to flail her legs around enough to get a foot hitched up onto the branch. Her climb wasn't graceful by any means, but she was just trying to get up and didn't care how she did it.

The skirt constricted her movements, but soon enough, she had shimmied and crawled to the branch just slightly below his. She sat down, letting her legs dangle over the side and she took a quick look around them. Up here, it felt different. The success of the climb made her chest swell with pride and satisfaction and the view was rather pretty.

The fields stretched into the distance, transforming into city streets on the right and towering forests on the left. It made her wonder what lied beyond the borders which she was allowed. Yes, she did go into the city at times with the nuns, but she never got to go off on her own and explore. And she had never even been close to the forests.

"It's...cool up here, huh?" he said suddenly, bringing her gaze back to him.

"Yeah. I've never climbed a tree before. There's not many trees at the orphanage," she muttered, leaning her temple against the tree trunk.

"Well if you...sneak out you can find a bunch of trees on the east side of town. But the roofs have better views."

"How do you even know how to climb to the roof?"

He gave her a small shrug. "Practice."

A small silence settled between the two of them as she pondered thoughtfully on what to ask him next. He was such an interesting character and a part of her had always wanted to go out and explore like he did.

"I see you sometimes...at night when you sneak out. Your window is across from mine," she commented.

"Oh..."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. It's cool. I wish I could get out. I just don't know where to go. Or if I'd be able to climb the buildings like you do."

"I could...show you...?"

"Nathaniel Morgan! Alexandria Lewis! Get down here this instant!"

She winced, peering through the leaves to see Sister Lilian glaring at them with her hands on her hips.

"Guess we better get down," he muttered, swinging down to another branch.

Nodding, she followed after him, occasionally getting a scrape or two on her arm, but it didn't slow her down until her feet were firmly on the ground. A small rip formed at the end of her skirt, but she didn't care since she hated wearing skirts like this when she wanted to run around and have fun.

Once they were on the ground, Sister Lilian made her way over, standing in front of them and looking over them.

"Your bad habits are rubbing off on the other children, Nathan. How many times do you have to get punished before you realize what you're doing?"

"I wanted to go up, he didn't make me," she protested, shooting a glance over at him.

"But if he wasn't there, the idea wouldn't have even formed in your mind. Do you know how unladylike it is to climb trees? And is that a rip in your skirt?"

Alex let out an irritated sigh and tugged a hand through her brunette hair that had begun to escape from its bun. "If I could wear pants outside, I wouldn't rip my clothes. Why does climbing trees have to not be ladylike? Clarice plays in the mud and that isn't ladylike either."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Nathan's lips and she smiled a little herself.

Sister Lilian sighed and shook her head. "I want the both of you to go back to your groups. I will speak to you once we return."

He gave her a small shrug and wave before heading back over to his group of boys. Lucky for them, this was only the beginning of an adventure.

* * *

A week had passed since Alex had last seen Nathan. Since the boys and the girls of he orphanage lived in separate buildings, the most she could do was look out her window across the streets into his, though it was far enough that she couldn't see anything inside. A part of her wanted to climb out her window and somehow get across the gap to peer in his window and say a quick greeting while she had the chance, but she didn't even know how to begin climbing across the buildings. She would often draw a diagram in her notebook of the buildings and try to map a way across, but she had yet to set foot out of the window. It was difficult with three other girls rooming with her and she had to wait until they were asleep.

Tonight was a night she thought of crossing the gap.

If only her roommates would turn off the lights and go to sleep.

She sat on her bed, propping her back up against the wall and tracing the little map in her hands as the other girls spoke quietly to each other, the lamp light casting a soft glow across the room. It was nearly eight o' clock, which meant that one of the Sisters would come in to make sure they went to sleep on time. After that, she would only have to wait a little while before they went to sleep.

Just as she closed her notebook, a face in the window nearly made her pee her pants, or nightgown, rather. Dropping the little book on the bed, her eyes went wide as Nathan peered at her with a small smile and wave. The other girls hadn't noticed, as they were too wrapped up in their conversation, but the footsteps approaching the door could mean some very bad things if he was still there.

Quickly, Alex motioned for him to duck down and he disappeared from the window just as Sister Jennifer entered the room.

"Time for bed, girls. I don't want to see any lights on or hear any talking."

"Yes Sister Jennifer," the other girls chorused.

"Sister, can I open my window?" she asked quickly, the gears turning in her brain. "I'm feeling a bit hot."

"I suppose so, Alexandria. But only a crack!"

With a small nod, she reached over to unlock the window and moved it up a tad so at least her arm could fit through. Once that was open, she got into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin as the lights were turned out and Sister Jennifer left the room. In a mad rush, she grabbed her notebook, quietly tearing out a page, and scribbling a note on it.

 _'I need to wait for everyone to fall asleep. Let me get dressed.'_

She slipped it out of the window and was rewarded with a thumbs up. Her eyes stayed glued on the other girls and as soon as their breathing deepened, she knew that she was in the clear. With speed she didn't know she had, she quietly opened up her dresser and pulled out a blouse and the only pair of pants she owned from stealing them out of the lost and found earlier in the week. Once she was dressed and her sneakers were tied up, she opened up the window further and slipped outside onto the roof next to where Nathan was waiting.

"Hey," she said, holding onto the windowsill for support. "What are you doing here?"

"Well...we only get to see each other on church retreats and you said that you wanted to explore the city...You want to come with me?" he asked.

Her hazel eyes brightened and she nodded quickly. "Yeah! How did you get over here, anyway?"

"I climbed up those buildings over there." He pointed to a small string of them close together. "And jumped from there to here."

"Awesome. Can you show me how?"

"Yeah. That way you can get to my window too." He grinned before standing and reaching up toward a window shutter. "Follow my lead."

Alex straightened up, stretching her feet and following after him. She reached up to the top of the shutter, grasping it firmly with both hands and taking a deep breath. He was already climbing up further, using outcroppings and windowsills for ledges. She took a brief look down to realize how high up she was before using her legs to push herself upwards to the outcropping.

Her stomach jolted as her fingers curled around the ledge and her feet found the top of the shutter where her hands had been previously. By now, her heart was beating madly in her chest, but there was something about the thrill and rush that made it seem exciting. With a little more confidence, she pushed herself up to the next shutter, fingers slipping a bit, but she was able to keep herself from falling. Finally, she grabbed onto the edge of the roof where Nathan was waiting and he helped her get up to the top.

"Whoa. That was so cool," she murmured breathlessly, dusting herself off and looking down at the increased distance between her and the ground.

"Yeah. I love it," he replied, rolling his shoulders and turning to the next building, which was a bit lower than what they were on now. "I'm going to jump from here to that roof. When you jump, land on all fours. It doesn't hurt as much that way."

"Got it."

With a small running start, he launched himself off the roof and landed on the roof below, on his hands and feet just like he told her to do. Once he was clear, he moved out of her way to give her room. The first time she tried, she stopped short out of fear and apprehension. Her second time, she managed to do it, pushing off the ledge at the last minute and over jumping quite a bit, landing next to Nate a bit clumsily and scraping the palms of her hands.

"See? Not that bad. The next one's harder though. You gotta jump from the roof to the outcropping there. Easy to slip. And then you have to climb onto the ledge and shimmy to the other side and then that's where my window is," he explained, starting to run once more and leaping to the outcropping. He was able to grab on with ease and climb up to the ledge.

Alex was feeling more confident now that she was able to climb a bit, so she followed his lead. She grabbed onto the outcropping easily enough, but her fingers slipped and she scrambled to gran onto something before she fell to her death.

Luckily, he had been watching her the whole time and was able to grab her wrist before she fell to far. With her left hand, she grabbed onto the outcropping again and with his help, she climbed up next to him, pressing her back against the wall and taking a shaky breath.

"It gets easier the more you do it. You're probably going to be really sore."

"As long as I don't die, I don't care if I'm sore."

He looked at her and let out a laugh at her comment, which made her grin a little despite being pretty shaken up from nearly falling.

"Come on, we're almost to my window," he said with a nudge, shimmying sideways around the corner of the building.

She followed after him, making sure her footing didn't become compromised at all, and soon enough she dropped down onto the roof next to his window.

"Phew...that was..."

"Scary?" he offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Fun. Scary but fun."

Silence settled over the two and she looked out over the streets, finding the emptiness inviting and mysterious.

"Hey maybe we could do this every week?" Nathan suggested, breaking the silence. "Like, just explore the city?"

"Really? You'd want to do that?" she queried in disbelief.

"Yeah... I mean you're the only real friend I can say I have...you're not like the others. You're cool."

A smile crept up her face and she nodded slowly. "You're cool too."

* * *

Tonight was another night of sneaking out and exploring with Nate. The more they explored, the more Alex wanted to get out of the stupid orphanage. She wanted to know what was out in the world - know all of the different places she could see and learn about face to face. The two of them talked about it all the time, but of course they couldn't actually leave. They had no way to get out and no money to go anywhere. It was merely a dream that they talked about often and hoped that one day they could achieve.

For now, their adventures consisted of climbing the buildings in the city and exploring the streets. Like usual, she waited for everyone to fall asleep before she slipped out and began the climb over to his window. She had gotten increasingly good at climbing now and her arms didn't hurt as much as they did the first time. She would stumble every once and a while after a particularly rough landing, but otherwise, she had improved dramatically.

When she got to his window, she peeked in, noticing that he was tying up his shoes. He looked up after he was finished and flashed her a small smile, heading to the window and opening it up before slipping out.

"Hey. Where to tonight?" she asked, taking a glance down at the streets.

"I thought we could go to the art museum down the street. Maybe sneak in and look around?" he suggested.

"Okay. Let's go. Lead the way."

He gave her a small grin before starting down the path to the art museum. She followed him with much more ease, jumping from roof to roof and windowsill to windowsill at a pace that would have been impossible had she not been doing this for weeks now. Finally, they reached the museum and stopped on the roof, peering down on the streets for any signs of security guards or people. A couple lingered by the front door, but the rest of the security seemed very minimal.

"I bet we could get in through the sky light," he pointed out, nearing the window on the roof.

She looked down into it, pursing her lips. "But how are we gonna get down to the floor?"

"We'll...figure it out." He shrugged. "Now help me with this?"

Alex felt a little skeptical, but she went over and helped him peel the window off the roof. Darkness encompassed the room with bits of light here and there shining in through the windows.

"We can use the rafters. Try and get down that way," she commented before sliding down.

Her feet just barely skimmed the rafter and she let herself gently down onto it, using her arms for balance and then moving aside to let him come down too. She didn't wait and started to walk across like a balance beam until she got to the wall and looked around for anything they could use to climb down.

"Hey why don't we slide down the curtains?" He turned to look at her.

"You think it will hold?"

"Yeah. Probably."

She let out a quiet laugh and shifted slightly so he could go first. Grabbing onto it, he stepped off the rafter and scrambled to wrap his legs around it too so he wouldn't flail around and fall. Carefully, he shifted himself down until his feet were on the ground. Well, it was proof enough that it would work so she followed suit. When she got on the ground, she immediately spotted a large portrait of a ship with pirates scattering to save the vessel from a giant sea monster. It sparked a little bit of longing in her chest and she imagined how cool it would be to be able to explore the sea and collect treasures.

After examining the portrait for a moment, she wandered off to go and find where Nathan had gone. She found him at the other side of the room, observing some weird sculpture that looked like it had come out of the trash.

"Is that supposed to be art?" she joked, smirking and giving it a once over.

"I dunno. Let's see what else we can find."

The two of them shuffled through the dark to find something that caught their interest. Paintings and sculptures of families, farms, and religious figures seemed to take up most of the space.

"Whoa, Nate, look at this!" she exclaimed, motioning him over.

The painting captured a magnificent scene of traders trading gold and silver for old artifacts.

"Wow...Hey maybe that'll be us someday," he joked.

"I wish. We just have to get out of the orphanage first," she murmured, looking back up at the art.

She could just imagine being one of the ones who found the artifacts in the first place and getting to discover all the history and stories behind it. Getting a good hunk of gold wouldn't be so bad either. At least she would be able to have her own things and live outside of the orphanage.

The two of them continued to explore the rest of the museum and Alex lingered on more of the nautical artwork. Tucked away in the corner, she found a very detailed sculpture of a pirate ship. She could easily tell it was one because of the flag with a skull and crossbones. There was just something about ships and pirates that enthralled her imagination more than anything else. Maybe it was the thought of traveling the world or the thought of exploring different islands for treasure...

Sighing a little, she leaned closer to it, accidentally brushing her hand along the stand...

A loud alarm started to blare into the silence and she reeled back, wincing and clutching her ears. Nathan wasn't far away from her and he did the same, looking over at her with confusion and panic in his gaze. They needed to get out of here and fast.

"We can't go back the way we came! It'll take to long!" he yelled over the noise, looking up when he heard voices.

On instinct, she grabbed onto his arm and tugged him behind a tapestry just before security guards came thundering past. She pressed her back against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to stay as quiet as possible, but her heart was thumping a million miles a second and the adrenaline running through her veins was making her sweaty and fidgety.

The light from the flashlight got dimmer as they got further away from their location and Nathan poked his head out from behind the tapestry, stepping out a moment later and motioning for her to follow. She didn't hesitate to start checking the windows for a way out, but all of them were locked or built so that they didn't even open.

"What do we do?" she asked in a frantic whisper, glancing behind her when she started to hear the footsteps get louder.

"Keep checking!" he responded, flying to another window and coming up unsuccessful.

Alex climbed over one of the sculptures to get one of the windows that was further out of reach and to their luck, it slid right open. Relief flooded her system. "Nate! This way!"

She started to climb through, but when she was about halfway, the guards spotted them. Slipping, she tumbled to the hard ground outside, landing on her back with a light thud. He got through the window just as one of the guards went to grab him and he landed beside her on his feet, reaching down to help her and ignoring the shouts and curses of the guards. They needed to get out of here and fast.

Neither of them even thought about where they were going. They just ran as fast as they could through the alleys and down the streets with the hammering footsteps tailing them the whole time. She didn't dare cast a glance behind her - she was far too afraid and panicked as they slid around corners and leaped over trash cans. It was only when they reached a dead end when she realized what they needed to do and should have done in the first place.

"Up! Go up!" Her gaze found a fire escape. "Help me up!"

Without hesitation, Nathan bent down on all fours to make himself a stool and she climbed on to of him, trying to get air into her lungs so she could function correctly without slowing down. Her fingers gripped the end of the fire escape and she gave it a mighty tug, which was enough to bring it down so that they could both get up with ease. With the last bit of energy she had in her, she climbed up, her best friend on her heels. They made it up but didn't stop climbing and when they got to the roof, they leaped over to the next one and the next until they were absolutely sure they'd lost the guards.

She finally collapsed, rolling on her back and breathing hard. The oxygen felt so sharp against her throat and lungs, but she couldn't stop sucking it in like a dehydrated man sucking in water. After several minutes of this, she rolled over onto her side with a groan, spotting Nathan sprawled out a few feet away from her. She caught his eye and he gave her an exhausted grin.

"That was fun."

She couldn't agree more.

* * *

It was a Wednesday night when Nathan came to her window. Usually, they would go out on their adventures together on Friday and Saturday nights, so it left Alex a little bit confused. The other girls were taking a particularly long time going to sleep tonight because of the excitement about a new girl entering the orphanage tomorrow. She didn't think it was really anything to be excited about since it meant that it was another girl who had lost her parents, but maybe she could try an make a new friend.

As usual once the girls were asleep, she got dressed, tied up her sneakers, and slipped out the window.

"Why are you here tonight? What's going on?" she whispered, glancing up when she thought she saw movement on a building a few streets over.

"I'd tell you but he's mad you took so long. Come on!" he vaguely explained.

 _He?_

Nathan took off without another word, leaving her to catch up to him as they bounded across the skyline as usual. Tonight, his pace was more rushed and sloppy, but he still managed okay and it only left her to wonder what he was so excited about and who this person was that seemed to be joining them tonight.

They got halfway across the city before they got to a building with another silhouette on the roof. As they approached, she was able to make out that he appeared to be a teenage boy, probably a few years older than them, with light brown hair sticking up in all directions and a smug, sarcastic attitude layering his features.

"Who're you?" she asked bluntly.

He let out a laugh, taking a step forward with his arms crossed and looking over her. "Surprised Nathan hasn't told you already. My reputation is pretty special around here."

Alex gave a confused look over at her friend.

"He's my brother, Sam. I wanted you to meet him. He comes to see me sometimes," Nathan explained.

Sam reached over and ruffled his little brother's hair, which caused him to groan and push away.

"Why aren't you in the orphanage? I mean, you're his brother," she pointed out, scuffing the ground with her shoes.

"Ah I uh, got relieved of my monastery duties," he said.

"He got kicked out," Nathan clarified.

"Oh...how old are you?"

"Fourteen. Three years older than baby brother. So what about you, runt? How old are you?" he countered.

"Eleven. Same as Nate."

"Nate? Aww little brother has friends close enough to call him by a nick name."

Again, Sam tried to reach over and ruffle his hair, but he was ready this time and dodged. She snorted, taking a moment to watch the two interact. It was a bit of a surprise that he had a brother, but it made sense that she didn't know him since he was older than them and wasn't in the orphanage anymore. Admittedly, he was cute and had the same facial features as Nathan did, the only major difference being the shades of their hair, Nate's being darker and Sam's being lighter.

"You wanna go for a little run? So I can see how much you've been practicing and how much you taught your girl?" Sam asked suddenly after being swatted away, a smug grin on his lips.

She answered for him with much enthusiasm to prove herself, "you're on!"

* * *

Alex was worried.

Tonight, she and Nathan were supposed to go out like usual, but he wasn't here. Usually, they alternated on who went to who's window and it was his turn to come to hers. She normally only had to wait twenty minutes after lights out until he would come, but it had been even longer. After the first five minutes, she'd gotten antsy and kept glancing around the window to see if he was coming.

Maybe he had just forgotten and fell asleep and she would need to go over there and wake him up? Or maybe he got in trouble or something. She wasn't sure, but she grew tired of waiting.

So, she slipped out of the window and went across the roofs in the normal familiar path. When she got to his window, she noticed that the window was already open and the light was on. She looked inside, greeted with empty beds. Church retreat? Sometimes the boys and girls went separately. But that didn't explain why the light was still on and she usually told him if he wasn't going to be able to hang out.

With a small sigh, she sat back on her heels, biting her lip and trying to figure out where he could possibly be. She scanned the skyline, looking for any moving figures or just movement at all, but she came up with nothing. Frowning, she climbed up higher cupping her hand above her eyes to try and get a clearer view. She didn't know how long she stood there looking, but it didn't do any good and her shoulders sagged. Was he even okay?

She decided that standing outside wasn't going to help things, so she slipped back in through her window and settled herself on her bed with her back against the wall. Her eyes wandered over to the other girls sleeping and she stared for a long while, mind racing with possibilities. No matter how hard she tried to settle her thoughts, they kept raging and it only brought her to worry more. The constant worrying drained her energy and made her tired enough to drift off, but just as she was doing so, a voice startled her awake.

"Alex! Hey wake up!"

Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up straight, blinking as Nathan hovered in front of her.

"Wha...Nate? Where have you been? I was waiting for you!" she whispered, stretching a bit.

"I know I'm sorry but...Sam he...found some stuff about my mom. He wanted me to go see it," he explained.

"Oh...What did you find?"

"A lot...but...we almost got caught. The police were chasing after us and...Sam he has a job now but he has to go away. He's bringing me."

What? Nathan was leaving? Her eyebrows furrowed and she reached over to hug him before she could control herself. "I don't want you to leave..."

"Hey wait," he started, pulling away, "you're coming too."

"I am?"

"Yeah I mean...get out of this place. Go explore the world together. Just like we always talked about. I wouldn't leave without you. Sam agreed..."

A huge smile stretched across Alex's lips. No hesitation, she was going to go with him. If she could get out of this place, she would, and now was an opportunity. The whole story wasn't explained yet, but all she knew was that she was getting out of here with her best friend and his brother.

Without another word, she leaped off the bed and dug into the dresser, retrieving the only thing that even mattered to her - a tattered notebook filled with her thoughts from the last few years. She slipped it into her jacket pocket and zipped it onto herself.

"Come on. He's waiting on his bike on the street."

Alex slipped out the window after him, not even looking back as she landed on the roof and started to climb down the side of the building where she spotted Sam on a bike. Excitement and nervousness jolted her system and she quickened her pace, finally dropping to the ground.

"Hey, runt. Glad you decided to join us," Sam greeted, shifting his weight to keep the bike upright.

She flashed him a toothy grin as Nathan got on behind him. Once he was settled, she squeezed on the very back and held onto her friend tightly.

"Ready, set, go," Sam murmured and then they were off.

The engine rumbled beneath them and her fingers tightened around Nathan's jacket. Together, they left the orphanage to continue on their own adventure. Little did they know how much they would get into.

* * *

 **A/N: So this is just the prologue, as the title obviously says haha. I'm not sure when I'm actually going to start writing the rest of this, but my Uncharted muse was high lately and I wanted to get the prologue out of the way so I could start planning and writing the rest of this story. It will take place very shortly after young Nate meets Sully in Colombia, so they'll be about fifteen. I have a plan of four books in this series, with this one being as they were young, one taking place when they are in their early twenties, a tie in with Uncharted 3, and then a tie in with Uncharted 4. I have plans for the other books, but obviously my priority is this one at the moment. Anyway, I think that's all you need to know for now. I hope you enjoyed the prologue and I'll keep you guys posted about the next chapters on my profile!**


	2. Victor Sullivan

**Chapter 1: Victor Sullivan**

 **4 Years Later**

Alex stood on her tiptoes and peered over the dumpster. Right across the street sat the museum. If it wasn't for Sam, they wouldn't have found it. If only Sam could actually get his head out of his work. Ever since they left the orphanage, Sam was trying really hard to make a living for them. She had to give him props. He never seemed like the guy to work hard a day in his life. But if there was ever someone he cared about, it was his baby brother. She was just part of the package. They'd all grown considerably close.

"I say we just stroll in. No one's paying. It's probably just a free museum. And if it is, then we'll just come back at night," Nathan said with a shrug, looking over at her.

She adjusted her hair in her ponytail, pressing her lips together and taking one final look. "Okay. Let's try and be quick."

As soon as the coast was clear, the two of them quickly exited the alleyway and headed for the door. The museum was quite nice for Colombia and the area they were in. If Sam knew how far they were from home...

Quietly, Nathan opened the door and she slipped inside after him. The foyer was dark, but the main room full of old artifacts was brightly lit from the sun shining through the windows. Even though all of this probably wasn't what they were looking for, it was still fascinating and she had to stop herself from running over to the nearest display and peering inside.

"Alright... Here we go," he murmured, glancing back at her.

She gave him a small smile and started forward, rolling her shoulders and glancing around to make it look like she was just interested in the artifacts. Well..she was. Just one artifact in particular.

A few people spoke to each other in Spanish, admiring some canons and other little trinkets. Her Spanish wasn't fluent, but she could speak some of it by now. It sounded like they were having a conversation about bringing students to the museum. That or rats, but she was pretty sure rats wouldn't want to learn about Francis Drake.

They went through the next archway that led up the red, carpet-lined stairs. Nate started humming to himself and she knew he was in his own mind, trying to think of where to find the tiny silver object.

At the top of the stairs, a guard stood by the teal doors, keeping an eye on things as some other people browsed the cases. She split a little bit away from him, taking a look through some of the cases by herself so they could find it more quickly. She came across some various golden coins and nautical instruments that had her mind swimming with fantasy thoughts of sailing the oceans and digging up treasures from years of being hidden. However, she heard Nathan mumble something and looked up to see him standing next to a case in the middle of the room.

Taking a quick glance around, she headed over, stopping next to him. Her eyes lit up when she spotted it. Engraved across it was Drake's motto. Sic Parvis Magna. Greatness from small beginnings.

"Aw crap. There's a key lock," he whispered, running his fingers along the glass. "Think you might be able to pick it?"

Alex had become the resident lock-picker of the group. Sam had taught them all and he was decent himself, but she picked it up the easiest and could pick just about anything.

She traded spaces with him, taking subtle glances at the lock and running her fingers along it as he pulled out his sketch pad to draw what he saw. "Possibly. I think it's a three pin lock. A minute or so and I should have it open."

He suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, following his gaze to a man as he strolled through the place, not staying at one exhibit too long. Just like they were doing. Seemed very suspicious.

Slowly, she backed away, retreating to the other side of the room with Nathan in tow. She tilted her head down to make it seem as if she was looking at the display, but kept her eyes locked on the man.

His chocolate hair sat combed back in near perfection and a small mustache lounged above his lips. From here, she couldn't make out eye color, but he was wearing a green button top and tan khakis.

He came to the display where they had been moments ago and took a long look inside, lingering there for a moment. When he was seemingly done, he took a step back and glanced in their direction before moving away. But he obviously wasn't done. To her surprise, he stood next to the display, crossing his hands behind his back and looking around in a bored manner. But it was easy to see the way he was wiggling the key around in the slot. How did he get the key?!

When he was gone, she moved forward, ready to go and examine the keyhole once more, but a guard stopped them before they could get the chance. He grabbed onto Nathan, sputtering words in Spanish and then grabbing onto her shoulder as well. She noticed that it was one of the guards they'd distracted earlier to get the front of the museum clear for them to enter.

"Sueltame!" Nate shouted, struggling in his grip.

"Bajate!" she tried, racking her brain for the right words as she was dragged by the arm. "Basta!"

He continued to ramble and she caught a few things here and there like "dirty street children" and "trouble" but that was about it.

They were forcefully dragged to the front door and once it was open, he tossed them out onto the street, one after the other. She landed heavily on her side and she hissed, glaring up at him as he shouted at them to stay away.

"Pendejo!" Nate swore, climbing to his feet and offering her a hand.

She took it and steadied herself, brushing the dirt off her jeans and huffing. "If that man has the key..."

"We need to find him, I know," he finished, turning slightly to look around. "Wait, there he is."

She tilted her head, looking to where he was indicating to see that the man was already out of the museum and heading down the street.

"Well let's go then!"

She picked up a light, quiet jog to catch up, as the man was turning to next corner. Nathan kept up easily and they slowed down when they reached the curve. The man was stopping up ahead at a small fruit cart and she couldn't help but feel a bit hungry looking at the food.

When they reached a car nearby, she ducked down, pressing her hands against the cool metal and keeping an eye out as he continued to browse. Nate went ahead and moved closer, almost knocking down a bucket of fruit in the process. Gritting her teeth, she got a bit closer, careful not to make the same mistake. She noticed the man take a banana, but no one else noticed as he walked off.

They reached the corner of their cover and Nate reached for an apple to take, but judging by his reaction after he bit into it, it must have been rotten.

"I was gonna offer you some but you don't want that," he snorted, ducking slightly as a man came and shoved him away.

She couldn't help but laugh a little bit and she ducked around the man, following. "Good one."

"Psh. Like you could be any sneakier."

"I happen to be the best thief out of all of us." She gave him a playful shove and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah we'll see. I bet you're the first to alert this guy we're following him," he shot back, trying to grab her tongue.

"Ew why would you even do that? And you're so on. Loser has to..."

"Steal Sam's clothes and the towel while he's in the shower," he suggested with a smirk.

"Seriously? You want your eighteen year old brother running around the apartment naked?" Her eyebrows rose.

"No but...he'll be pissed. And we all know what happens when Sam is pissed. If you back out, you're a chicken," he taunted.

"That's not gonna work on me-"

"-chickennnnn. You're the biggest chicken there issss!"

"Fine!" She shoved him and sped up a little, as their target had gotten way ahead through the butcher shop. "But you're going to be at the end of Sam's wrath!"

"We'll see," he said smugly, reaching out to shake on it.

She made sure to squeeze his hand extra hard and he grunted, shaking his fingers out after she pulled away. With a small smirk, she skipped ahead, slowly opening the large door and spotting the man across the courtyard unlocking another door. When they got to that door, it was unfortunately locked.

"Damn," she muttered, taking a step back as he looked through the window.

"He's going upstairs. I bet we could get in through a window," Nathan suggested. "Ladies first."

Alex snorted and rolled her eyes before looking for the best place to start climbing. This particular building had a plethora of outcroppings and she jumped up to the first, holding on tightly and continuing to push herself upwards with him on her heels. From there, she went up to an air conditioner mounted in a window, which gave her a bit more grip and she relaxed slightly before continuing onward. She stopped at the edge of a building, her hands tight around a metal pipe and she scouted for the next way to go.

"The rungs! To your right!" he whisper-shouted, bringing her attention to the rungs hanging beneath a balcony.

"Gotcha," she returned, slipping over and grabbing onto one.

Like a set of monkey bars, she climbed across and then swung from the last rung to the ledge on a window across.

"I don't wanna rush ya, pal, but can you move it along?" a man's voice rung out. "It's just that I got a lady waiting, you know how it is."

She quickly climbed across to a column-like outcropping and stopped there, hanging from it and peering in the window. Nate opted to hang from the ledge of the window and look through from there.

Their mystery man stood inside with another Hispanic man across from him, fixing something in his hands and then handing it over. A key. It was put into his wallet with a thank you before he left.

"We need to get the wallet. Can't go back...keep climbing!" he muttered.

"On it." She slipped down to the next windowsill and moved across to the balcony. Nathan used a pipe to try and get over, but it broke off at the lat minute and she had to do everything in her power to keep herself from screaming. Luckily, he didn't fall and used the momentum to swing over. She grabbed onto his hand to help him up. "You scared me, don't do that."

He merely offered a smirk before continuing on. This time, he took the lead and climbed out onto a sign sticking out from the balcony. She waited until he was across before following so the sign didn't buckle from all their weight. Easily, he climbed onto the ledge and then launched himself across to another. She held her breath, but he cleared it and then climbed up. Similarly, she jumped across with ease and slipped onto the roof.

On the other side, she spotted the man, tightly hugging a woman. She smirked a little. "Looks like he's got motive."

"Probably friends with benefits," he guessed, shrugging and then jumping to the next way down.

After scaling their way down the sign, she landed on the ground lightly and straightened up. Quietly, they made their way through the crowd and her eyes narrowed in on where they were now. They were getting drinks at a little stand.

"Alright. You get the wallet or me?" she asked, leaning against the gate.

"I'll get it. You know how long I've been waiting for this?" he asked.

"Of course I do. Now hurry up and go while he's distracted."

She slipped behind a trash can and watched carefully as he approached. He walked casually, like he was just passing by, and grabbed the wallet before she could even blink. As soon as he was a few steps away, she joined his side again, grinning and shooting a look back.

"Nice one. We just have to wait until the museum closes. Then it's all ours," she said, hooking her thumbs on her beltloops.

"Shouldn't be too long now. Come on, let's hurry," he suggested, picking up the pace as they turned the corner.

Alex started to jog, letting herself be a bit louder and more carefree now that they were out of earshot. She looked up for a moment and regretted that she did, as the man had suddenly appeared in front of them and grabbed onto her. Nathan latched onto her arm and tried to pry her free.

"Sueltame, vienjo!" he spat, glaring up at him.

"Violación! Violación!" she screamed in hope of catching someone's attention. Anyone shouting rape would be sure to have someone come to the rescue.

But before she could shout any louder, he quickly covered her mouth. She spat in his hand, squirming.

"Let's try that again," he suggested, his grip still firm.

"Let go of her," Nate growled.

"Ahhh, now that's what I thought. Now don't try to run or scream again." He gave them both pointed looks before letting go and taking a step back, wiping his hand on his pants.

"You two are a long way from home. Your parents must be worried about you."

She shook her head, snorting. "Doubt it."

"Okay, sore subject... That was a nice lift back there. You're pretty good."

What? Was he complimenting them after they just stole his wallet?

"I don't know what you're talking about, old man," Nathan said with a glower.

"Hey. Don't call me that. Your technique is really sloppy, though. You're telegraphing all your moves."

"Pretty sure this guy is crazy. We should leave before he flips out on us," she murmured, taking hold of Nathan's wrist.

"Yeah? You two have been tailing me all over town. Probably figured me for an easy mark. But you picked the wrong guy."

She took a step back, pulling her friend a little further with her.

"Ah-ah! My wallet!"

Nathan pried his grip from her and put his hands on his hips, giving the man an indignant look.

"Fine. Maybe we'll just call the police."

"Go ahead. They might wonder why a middle-aged tourist is following young boys and girls down alleyways. All she has to say is rape and you're the one in handcuffs," Nathan challenged.

She smirked, bumping his shoulder with her own as the man chuckled. Behind his back, she felt him slip the wallet from his back pocket and hand it over to her. She took it and fingered around for the key before finding it and slipping it out. There was no way this guy would just leave. He'd want his wallet.

"You are a crafty little beggar, aren't ya?"

"I know how to take care of myself. We both do... Anyway, I'm pretty sure you don't like the cops any more than I do."

"Good point," he agreed, shrugging a little.

It seemed like the opportune time to leave and she started to turn.

"Kids... The wallet?"

She huffed, pressing her lips together and handing it to Nate, who handed it back to the man.

"Had to try," he said with a shrug, gesturing for her to follow.

Without another word, they headed down the alley at high speed, but not fast enough to cause suspicion. When they were clear, he slowed down and she grinned, pulling the key out of her pocket and handing it to him.

"Doubt he even noticed," she laughed, tucking a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"Probably not. Come on. We have to get back to the museum. It'll be getting dark by the time we get there," he urged.

"Yeah, you're right. Race you there!" she challenged before shooting off like a rocket down the alley.

She heard him yelling after her, but she didn't look back and merely grinned to herself as she pushed faster. While she was quite speedy and agile, he had more stamina, and by the time they were nearing the museum, she had started to tire. He was side by side with her and she smirked over at him, using one last boost of energy to launch herself at the fire escape before he could. Panting, she hung from the bottom rung, catching her breath for the briefest of seconds before hauling herself all the way up. She didn't fully stop until she was on the roof and she dramatically rolled over on her side, staring up at the sun and letting out short huffs of air.

"I...beat...you," she breathed, laughing.

"B-barely!" he snorted, opening up his bag and pulling out a bottle of water. He took a long gulp before handing it over to her.

"Thanks." Taking it, she downed the other half of the bottle and shifted onto her knees. With no regard for the environment, she tossed it over the edge of the building and stood. "Let's get this going before Sam gets pissed that we're gone. He'll probably be back at the apartment soon."

"Yeah, but he won't be pissed when he sees what we come back with," Nate assured before leaping onto the rope that connected this side of the street from the next.

Like primates, they swung from rope to wall and from wall to lamp post. Neither of them needed to speak to be able to figure out where they were going. By now, they worked silently together and knew exactly the best places to climb.

Getting into the museum itself was super easy. The window was wide open and she easily landed on the floor inside. No one else was around, which was good. It meant that mystery man was probably going to stay away now that his key was missing.

"Hurry up so we can get out of here fast," she urged.

"I know, relax," he huffed, rolling his eyes and unlocking the cabinet carefully.

He took the ring out, taking a moment to examine it between his fingers. She instead directed her attention to the round golden trinket still inside the display. What was it for? Picking it up, she noticed the letters on it, some language she didn't understand.

"Here. Give that, I think I know what it's for," he said.

Handing it to him, he placed it in the palm of his hand and put the ring inside the center, which caused it to start to move and swirl.

"Wow. What does it mean?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Damn it, kids."

She jumped, eyes snapping up. The man from before was strolling in with a few goons and his lady friend.

"Why Victor, look who it is. The filthy little children that made off with your wallet," she snapped, voice dripping with venom.

Instinctively, Alex turned to run, but from behind them, more men in suits stood blocking their exit.

"Come on, you haven't got a chance. Just hand it over," the man, now dubbed Victor, encouraged.

The blonde woman snatched the golden trinket from Nathan's hand and then gave it to Victor before holding her hand out expectantly. "Now, the ring," she demanded.

She could tell by the look on her friend's face that he was going to be playing the smart aleck today. And she was proven right when the lady grabbed his hand and he waved his fingers around.

"What ring?" he taunted, smirking smugly at her.

She laughed darkly before slapping him right across the face. Alex's mouth dropped and she crouched down next to him. "Are you okay?" she breathed, shooting daggers up at the woman.

"Who do you think you are? You're nothing but filthy, cast off little beggars. You're not fit to handle these objects," she spat.

"And who says you are. You're just a witch," Alex growled, helping Nate up.

The woman went to slap her, but this time, Victor stopped her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? They're just kids!"

In that moment, she felt Nathan touch her hand very briefly and she knew what that meant. She turned her attention to him and the look in his face said it all. As soon as the message was conveyed, they bolted. On the way out of the room, she nearly slammed into one of the displays, but was able to avoid it and started scrambling up the stairs. Her heart roared in her ears and she could barely hear Nate swearing under his breath and the men shouting behind them.

On the roof, they were locked into a small little fenced area, but she slipped right through the crack in the door easily. Nathan had more trouble because he was larger than her and she stopped, turning around to grab his hand and help yank him away from the men that were grabbing his ankles. Within seconds, he was free and they were running again, this time across the roof.

"Who the hell are these guys?" he shouted, leaping to the next roof.

"You think I know?!" she shot back, losing her grip on the shingles as one of them broke beneath her fingers.

She slid a few feet but was able to recover fast enough that she didn't need help. It seemed like the higher they got, the more the men were bursting from the woodwork and cornering them. Nate was the first to leap across the gap to another roof and a man in a suit burst from the windows and tried to step on his fingers and make him fall to his death. She shouted his name just as Victor leaped out the window and grabbed the man in a choke hold.

"Beat it, kids!" he grunted.

No time to argue. She didn't care who was helping them at this point. As long as she and Nate got out of here. With renewed adrenaline, she started climbing and running as fast as she could without slipping. However, when she jumped down onto a metal-lined roof, she slipped.

Her body tumbled onto a slanted roof and she went sliding down.

"Alex!"

She didn't get a chance to respond because she was being launched forward through a window. Her body landed with a hard thud and she groaned.

"I'll go around, keep running Alex!" she heard him shout.

He was right. Because four of the goons were jumping her way. Pushing past the pain, she got to her feet and scrambled, zipping through the house of this poor person who seemed terrified when she burst into the living room.

"Sorry! I'd pay for the damages but I have no money!" she yelled over her shoulder before leaping off the balcony.

Nathan was just up ahead swinging from another lamp post. A man tried to grab her, but she successfully dodged and caught up with her friend.

"How are we going to get out of this?!" she gasped, skidding to a stop as another man came from a different direction.

"Just keep going!" he replied, leaping on to another roof below them.

She followed suit and her heart jumped to her throat when she realized they were at a dead end. One of them grabbed onto Nathan and he pushed away, which ultimately ended up with him falling over the roof. She gasped, sliding backwards onto her rear and looking up in fear as another man joined them with a gun in is hands.

"Look what we have here," he said ominously, raising his gun as soon as Nate picked up a fallen one from the ground.

She grabbed onto his leg, making him trip backwards and fall into her. Gosh, she could feel every bone in her body shaking with fear and she held onto her best friend for dear life as this man inched closer and closer. They were going to die tonight. After everything they went through, they were going to die. Sam would realize when they didn't return that something was wrong and he'd see their bodies on the news. A stray tear slipped down her cheek.

"Just close your eyes. This won't hurt a bit," the man murmured.

"T-thank you for being my friend. Thank you for taking me out of that horrible place. You've been there for me more than anyone," she whispered to Nathan, voice trembling as she said her last words.

A gunshot went off and she jumped, but to her relief, she realized she wasn't dead. And neither was Nathan.

The man before them dropped to the ground to reveal Victor with a smoking gun. She gasped, falling on her back and shaking as he approached them. All she wanted to do was curl up and cry, but she couldn't even find it in herself to do that.

"Come on. You're okay."

Victor pulled her gently to her feet and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to calm her breathing. She latched onto Nathan's hand as this man led them away. She didn't even know where they were going. Her body was in too much shock to register anything until they were standing in front of an empty table at a pub. Victor didn't kill them. He didn't bring them back to that dreadful woman. He was even giving them food.

Slowly, she sat down, staring blankly at her plate for a moment before realizing how hungry she actually was. Picking up her fork, she started eating, slowly at first, but then speeding up.

"What do you want from us?" Nathan asked, dropping his fork.

"Gratitude would be nice. I did just save your asses back there," he replied, lighting a cigar.

"Thank you," she murmured sincerely. Her gaze stayed down on her food. He reached over to pat her shoulder and she jumped slightly, blinking owlishly at him.

"But what's in it for you?" Nate pressed. "I mean, you're a crook, right? You gotta have an angle."

He chuckled, taking a drag. "You are one piece of work, kid. Dunno how your sister has put up with it for so long."

"We're not siblings," she clarified, feeling a bit more steady now that things were more grounded. "Best friends."

"Oh. Bonnie and Clyde, then, eh?" Victor snorted. "What's your story anyway?"

"Not exactly," Nathan corrected. "But look, mister. No offense, but we don't even know you."

His cocky attitude didn't deter Victor one bit, because he put his cigar down and held out his hand. "Easily remedied. Victor Sullivan. This would be the part where you introduced yourself."

Neither of them said a word.

"Okay. Suppose you tell me what's so special about that ring?"

"It belongs in my family. I'm just taking it back."

"Passed down from Francis Drake himself."

"That's right," Nathan confirmed.

"I don't know how to break it to ya, kid, but Drake didn't have any heirs. No children."

"Well...not with his wife back in England, anyway."

She smirked a little, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms over her chest.

"Okay, good point. Let me see it."

Alex shrunk a little, shooting a look over at Nathan and shaking her head. They went through all that trouble to get it, there was no way that they were risking it.

"If I was going to take it from you, I would have done it by now," Victor pointed out.

He shared a reluctant look with her before handing it over. Her body tightened and she watched him carefully as he tried and failed to read the inscription on the ring and earned a history lesson. Nathan loved to tell the story about Francis Drake and she often fell asleep to him babbling about it to Sam or murmuring it to himself.

"So what was the deal with the ring and that astrolabe thing back there?" Victor asked, leaning on his arms.

"Wouldn't you know? You're working for them," she pointed out, tilting her head to the side a little.

"Look. A client wants something, I obtain it for a price. I don't ask any questions. It's just a job."

"Looked pretty friendly to me," Nathan snickered.

"Yeah well...anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm fired."

"No kidding," she quipped.

"You're just as sassy as he is, aren't ya kid?" Victor chuckled.

"It wasn't an astrolabe. It's a decoding device. On his way around the world, Drake sailed through the East Indies. Only he says that it took him six months to get him from here, to here." He pointed on the little map he'd drawn in his book. "It doesn't add up. He was way too good a sailor for that. It would have taken him a month, tops. He was hiding something. Something big."

"How big?"

"Like secret-mission-from-the-queen big. Like millions in plundered treasure that hasn't ever been recovered, big."

"Probably bigger," she added, shrugging.

"And that decoder has something to do with it?" Victor clarified.

"I'd bet my life on it," Nathan said.

"Oh swell...and Marlowe's got it."

"She can't use it without the ring. She doesn't have anything to decode," Alex pointed out.

"So it's a stalemate then?"

"For now." Nathan shrugged.

"You guys still haven't told me what your names are." Victor leaned forward.

"And you still haven't told us what you want from us."

"Okay, look, you got talent. But you got a lot to learn. You two stick with me, and I'll teach you a few things." He raised an eyebrow, scanning both of their expressions.

"We're doing just fine on our own."

Alex pressed her lips together and sighed. "Nate..."

He looked over at her and she shrugged lightly. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea. This guy, he saved their lives. It might be hard to trust him, but if they told Sam, he would be able to shadow them and make sure this guy was alright.

"Whaddya say we try this again? My friends call me Sully," Victor offered.

"...Nathan Drake. Nate."

"Alexandria Lewis. Alex."

Victor seemed to relax slightly and shook both of their hands, seeming satisfied. "I see great things in our future. Great things."

All she hoped was that it was the truth.

* * *

 **A/N: I used Google Translate for the Spanish so I apologize if it's wrong. If you're Spanish-speaking, feel free to correct me!**

 **Translations:**

 **Sueltame - let go**

 **Bajate - get off**

 **Basta - enough**

 **Pendejo - dumbass**

 **Sueltame, vienjo - let go, old man**

 **Violación - violation/rape**


	3. Tricks of the Trade

**Chapter 2: Tricks of the Trade**

After free lunch from Victor Sullivan, they agreed that tomorrow they would meet up and start to learn what they could from him. But first, they would need to tell Sam and have him come along just to make sure this guy wasn't trying to trick them or do something sketchy. Both she and Nate knew that telling Sam was going to be an argument waiting to happen since the older boy was quite proud, and the fact that they were getting instruction from someone new would burst his ego.

So the two of them headed home, trying to decide who should tell Sam and what exactly they should tell him. They went back and forth joking about how he was going to react, though most of the scenarios would likely be true in some form.

When they reached the grungy apartment, the door was unlocked leaving them to believe that Sam was already home. He'd been working like crazy lately to try and take care of them while she and Nate picked up whatever they could off the streets or out of someone's pockets.

Upon entering, Alex noticed Sam sprawled across the couch with slightly damp hair and some sort of bean dish in a bowl on his stomach. He looked up, eyes half-lidded and sleepy but a silly grin on his face nonetheless.

"You guys are back earlier than usual. Pigger man spoil your fun?" he asked, sitting up slightly.

She and Nate shared a glance, trying to figure out how to bring up the fact that they almost died but still happened to get the ring they'd came here for while meeting a new friend. Yeah it seemed like a lot to relay.

"No, but...we've had a pretty eventful day," Nathan started, taking a few steps forward and then pulling the ring out of his pocket, holding it by the string to show him.

Sam's eyes widened and he was suddenly wide awake, getting to his feet and spilling his dinner all over the floor as he hurried over.

"You got it?!" he exclaimed, taking it from his brother and looking over it to make sure it was real.

"Yeah! Right out of the museum," Alex confirmed with a smile.

"Holy shit! How did you even get it that easily?"

Nathan pressed his lips together, biting back an obvious smirk. "Well...it wasn't so easy. Might want to sit down for this, big brother."

Sam raised an eyebrow as the two of them pushed him over to the couch. Alex settled down on the bending coffee table across from him while Nate leaned over the arm of the couch, looking all excited and a little bit nervous at the same time.

"Soo me and Alex get to the museum, right? I wasn't sure if it was the right one, but we were looking and we found it. But there was someone else there, this guy... So we stood back, watched him for a minute... And he was fiddling with the lock, seeing if the key he had fit it. And it did. That was our ticket to get the ring," Nate started, smirking slightly.

"Whoa, whoa, someone else was trying to get the ring? Who was it?" Sam interrupted, sitting up slightly.

"Relax, I'm getting to that. Anyway, so we tail him until he's at a little street bar having drinks with a woman. I go up, do a simple lift and the key's ours. Alex and I high-tail it to an alleyway, but he noticed and cornered us. Wanted his wallet back, but we weren't about to give it to him. I slipped the wallet over to Alex when he wasn't looking and she got the key right out of it. He wasn't gonna leave without the wallet so we gave it back to him and we had it."

"That easy?"

"Not quite," she said with a shake of her head. "It gets better."

"As soon as the museum closed for the day, we headed inside. Climbed up through a window. Getting the ring was easy, but there was something else with it. A decoder. We were just about to leave, but the guy and his girl showed up with a bunch of goons. Tried to get it off us. Took the decoder, but we still had the ring. She wasn't playing so nice and the guy, Victor, he was telling her to take it easy on us. We used that as a distraction and got the hell out of there."

It was easy to hear the excitement in his voice as he recited exactly what happened as they ran away, gesturing wildly as he described how they'd run across the roofs and dodged gunfire. He got a little quieter as he told of the man that cornered them and how they almost had to shoot him, but Victor stepped in and took care of them.

"Dammit, Nate. You guys could have died," Sam muttered, running his fingers through his hair. Throughout the story, he'd been enthralled, but when he realized that he was potentially doing a crap job at protecting them, he became big brother.

"But we didn't," she offered, tugging a tendril of hair. "Sully, he said he would teach us some stuff. Made plans for tomorrow. But we wanted you to be there, make sure he's okay."

Sam stood up, looking flustered. "No. I've already taught you what you need to know. You don't need help from this guy."

"Sam, come on," Nathan huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's gonna help us with the ring and the treasure. You know how long it took us to figure out the ring was in Colombia?"

"Yeah and so? We still found it. On our own."

She knew at this point he had no reasons to argue. He just was too proud, had too much of an ego to let someone else teach them what they wanted to know.

"Yeah well if you want to find the trail before someone else does, we should take this. Seriously. Come on," she pleaded, looking up at him with a firm, stubborn gaze.

The room was silent for a long while, and Sam looked away, clearly contemplating it. She crossed her fingers and studied his face for any signs of giving in. His nose twitched and she knew as soon as it did that he was caving. It was an odd behavior she noticed, but it meant good news.

"Fine," he muttered, sighing. "I'll come with you tomorrow. Guess he can't be that bad if he saved you."

His tone was strained and he grimaced slightly as he spoke, but he agreed. She shot a sly grin over at Nate, who returned it and they both high-fived. Sam rolled his eyes and picked up the bowl he spilled from the ground, scooping up the food into it and making his way to the kitchen.

"You guys go ahead and gloat. I'm going to bed."

She snickered and scooped up the ring that had been deposited on the table. Greatness from small beginnings. Looks like there would be greatness in their future, just like Sully said.

* * *

The next day came a lot sooner than Alex was prepared for. She was excited and ready to get started and so was Nate. Sam seemed less enthusiastic, as he barely wanted to get out of bed in the morning and dragged his feet to breakfast, but eventually they got him up and running. She got dressed as quickly as possible and soon they were heading out the door and down the street to the little pub where they said they'd meet Sully at ten.

Sunlight shone brightly down on them as they walked and it put an extra spring in her step. It wasn't too crowded in the streets since it was late morning, but soon enough there would be flocks of people buying products for lunch or out getting lunch and drinks. Sam snatched a piece of fruit from a cart as they passed, but no one noticed and they kept on walking until they could see the little pub just up ahead.

Sully stood near the entrance, smoking a cigar and wearing almost the exact thing he had yesterday except in a different shade. When he spotted them, he waved, not taking much notice of Sam until they were right in front of him.

"So there's three of you now, eh?" Sully asked as he flicked a bit of the burnt end off his cigar.

"Sorta. Sully, this is Sam. He's my older brother. Wanted to tag along," Nate said.

"Hey," Sam greeted stiffly, holding out his hand, to which Sully gladly took.

"Nice to meet ya, kid. You the one that taught them their tricks?"

Sam bristled slightly at being called a kid, but took the recognition as a bit of a compliment and puffed up a little. "Yeah. Wouldn't be able to get by without 'em."

Alex rolled her eyes in Nathan's direction and she earned a smirk in response. Both of them knew how proud he was being.

"Right. Well you might wanna take a lesson too," Sully retorted with a good-natured chuckle.

 _Oohhh._ It took all of her strength not to burst out laughing at the disgruntled look on his face at the older man's words. Burn, Sam. Sully didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact he did something wrong, but he shot a sly wink over at her and Nathan. He knew _exactly_ what he was doing. The crafty old man.

"Alright. So I've seen you do a simple lift," Sully said, gesturing to Nate. "But I haven't seen you do one. So go ahead, find a target and we'll see how you do."

She took in a deep breath and started to scan the crowd, looking for someone that would be easy enough but also not too easy. Several of the merchants could be good targets, so she chose a spice merchant and started to head over. She remembered that yesterday, Sully said something about Nate telegraphing all his moves, so she tried to go more naturally, browsing the carts and pretending to be a customer.

Once she reached the spice merchant, she picked up a few spices, looking at each of them. And once the seller turned for a moment, she dropped the little rucksack of spices and then proceeded to be as clumsy as possible, knocking several more over onto the ground. Her eyes widened and she looked to the merchant, who exclaimed something and bent down.

"Lo siento!" she apologized, bending down just out of his view to try and "help" him clean up the mess.

While he was gathering everything, she quickly backed up and grabbed for the money in the tin he was using to collect it. And as soon as she grabbed it, she finished helping the man pick up the spices, apologized once more, and then hurried away, back toward the group lingering nearby. Once she was with them, they slowly shifted out of sight and Sully gave her a grin.

"Not bad, kid. A little bit of an attention drawer, but not bad," he commented.

Sam smirked and gave her a high five. "Knew you could do it."

"Now before you get too excited, here's somethin' you oughta know. You're not bailing out quick enough. The approach is fine, but you're spending too much time recovering after the lift. Grab it and go. You gotta disappear. Don't bother helpin' them. And if you're picking up off someone's pocket, don't poke and prod their ass. That's why I knew you'd taken my wallet," Sully instructed, giving Nate a look.

She snorted, trying not to laugh too hard while Nate gave a sour look. Sam also hid his laugh behind a smirk.

"A little handsy now, are we little brother?" Sam joked, causing his brother's face to explode with a flush.

"Very funny, Sam," he grumbled, giving him a shove.

Sully chuckled and patted Nate on the shoulder and then looked to Sam. "Alright, kid, your turn."

Sam raised an eyebrow, clearly feeling a little offended by the name and also confused as to why he was supposed to go. "Me?"

"No, your identical twin," Sully retorted. "Yes, you."

"Thought you were just trying to teach them?"

"Well then it should be no problem for you if you're such the expert."

Damn. Sully knew just how to manipulate Sam to do what he wanted. All he had to do was puff up his ego a little bit or deflate it enough for him to want to prove himself. It was genius and she had a feeling she might try these tactics on her own.

"Psh, I guess," Sam murmured, cracking his knuckles and then slowly sliding out of the alley.

She and Nate scurried forward, peeking out from behind the wall to watch. Sully stood a little behind them with his arms crossed, looking a bit amused as Sam strode confidently into the bazaar.

His target seemed to be a rug merchant. The merchant was already busy with another customer. Sam took this opportunity to quickly snatch what he could before turning away from the scene, making it look rather flawless. With his hands in his pockets, he strode back toward them, a smug smirk on his face and his chest puffed up with pride from the easy lift.

"How was that, old man?" Sam asked with a smirk, leaning against the wall.

"Not bad, kid," Sully admitted, though he didn't seem like he was going to back down. "But you might want to start being more alert and less cocky. Almost got noticed. Even experts like you could learn a thing or two every now and again."

Alex covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a laugh a Sam's face got red and he huffed.

"Loosen up," Sully chuckled and gave him a pat on the back. "Now come on, let's head to another area before they figure out something's going on."

The four of them headed down the street and she took a glance at the eldest Drake, rolling her eyes slightly and then falling back a few steps. Without warning, she launched herself on his back, keeping herself steady with her arms around his neck.

"Ugh, damn, Alex. Did you eat and extra meal this morning?" he jabbed, peering at her over his shoulder and smirking.

"Shut it, Drake. You're just weak," she taunted. "And pouty. Maybe you should chill out and try to stop being so arrogant."

"Hey, I'm just the best and I'm not afraid to show it."

"That's debatable." She snorted.

"What? I'm about to disown you as my fake little sister, Lewis," he threatened, loosening his hold on her so she was only able to hold on by her arms around his neck.

"Try telling that to Nate. You'll lose that one."

"Yeah well..."

She let go and slide off his back, landing on her feet and taking a few quick steps to catch up. "Just try to be a little nicer, yeah? Maybe learn something. Remember, he saved our lives."

Sam let out a sigh and looked down at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Alright, fine."

A devious smirk lit her features and she bumped him with her shoulder. "You're too easy."

He merely rolled his eyes and huffed, giving her a shove back. Even if the three of them weren't the most well-off, she wouldn't have this any other way. They were all like family and that was really all she wanted. Well that and adventure, which they had plenty of since they left the orphanage.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and she and Nate learned a lot of things that Sam hadn't known or taught them. She could tell that he had started out trying to be more civil and open to Sully, but by the end of the day, he was just as pouty and annoyed as he had been at the start of the day.

They departed from Sully at around five and headed back to their shabby house for dinner. More rice and beans. Of course, she was getting used to it but it was still pretty bland to eat almost every night. Once in a while, they would have some other things, but with their pretty poor budget, it wasn't that often.

Tonight was actually one of the nights that the three of them ate together and though they didn't have a formal dining table, they made do, with Sam taking up the couch and she and Nate using the coffee table as the sat on the ground across from the older brother.

"Listen, you two. I really would rather you not go back to see Sullivan tomorrow," Same murmured, letting his fork drop in his empty bowl with a plunk.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why? He's pretty cool. Taught us a lot that will help us with money."

"I just don't feel right about the guy."

Nate snorted. "You're just mad because he knows stuff you don't."

She snickered and shrugged a little. "He's got a point. You were so grumbly by the time we were done."

"Yeah, well he was being pretty arrogant, don't you think?" Sam huffed, clearly getting flustered.

"And you weren't?" she countered.

With an annoyed sigh, he set his bowl down on the table and stood. "I'm taking a shower, wash the dishes would you guys?"

He didn't hesitate to make a beeline for the bathroom and she held in a laugh, scooping up his bowl as well as her own. Nathan brought his own bowl and they headed to the sink. She started to scrub and he rinsed, the two of them remaining silent for a moment before he broke the silence with the words she was just waiting to hear.

"We're still going to see Sully tomorrow, right?"

A grin split her lips and she looked over at him, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Of course we are."

* * *

 **A/N: Ahh guys I'm super sorry for the wait! I've been insanely busy with my other stories and school but now that the semester is almost over I'm going to be a writing machine this summer! So hope for many updates! :D I hope this chapter was good! Things are really gonna start picking up in the next chapter and their first ever treasure quest will be introduced. Hope you guys enjoyed and thanks so much for sticking with it despite my crappy updating schedules xD  
**


	4. Myths and Legends

**Chapter 3: Myths and Legends  
**

The next day, Alex and Nate decided to go ahead with their plan to meet Sully as promised. Since Sam had to go to work, it left them free to do as they desired, even though he gave them a look right before he left the apartment. As soon as the door shut, she gave a goofy grin and the two of them bounded to the closet to collect their belongings for a nice day learning with Sully.

Outside, it was bright, sunny, and hot, but by now they were used to it. On the way to their meeting location, they lifted several handfuls of coins with some of the new tips they learned. A good start to the day and it only got better once they saw Sully waiting for them by the old tavern from yesterday.

"No Sam?" Sully asked with a chuckle, taking a puff of his cigar.

"He's at work. Probably not too happy we're here. Sucks for him I guess," Nathan said with a shrug.

"Coupla sneaks if I ever saw them. You have breakfast yet? I'll treat."

"No but...we've run into some funds of our own. No need to pay for us," Alex assured, smirking.

"Oh? Shoulda known you two'd already be working. C'mon, let's grab a bite."

He gestured them inside and they followed, all sitting down at a table. A waitress served them and they all tucked into their meals, exchanging a few humorous words and relaxing late into the morning. They had just finished eating when Sully pulled out a small piece of paper and slid it to the center.

"Since you two know a fair bit about history, figured I'd run this by you. A client of mine was asking about it," he said, leaning back in his seat.

Alex opened up the folded paper and her eyebrows shot up at the drawing. "The Kusanagi sword! From ancient Japanese myth. Why would your client want this? The whereabouts are unknown and no one knows if it even exists."

"Hell if I know. Looked up what I could about it but turned up nothing. Didn't even know what the name of the damn thing was. What do you know about it?"

"It's one of the three Imperial Treasures of Japan," Nate said, folding his hands on the table. "The sun goddess, Amaterasu, gave the sword to her grandson, Ninigi. The sword itself was supposedly in the body of an eight-headed dragon that Amaterasyu's brother slaid. The sword traveled down a bunch of rulers, but in the end it supposedly was hidden in the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. But no one has seen it there."

"You think it's actually there?" Sully asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly interested.

"Likely not. But if anything, there's probably a trail or something. If that was the last known location, there's bound to be something hidden on its whereabouts," she explained.

"Hmm...Well I'm due to be in Japan by the end of the week anyway. Wouldn't hurt to take a look around. Thanks you two."

"Wait, wait that's it?" Nate spoke suddenly. "You bring up the sword and then just...nothing? No offer to bring us along? Cause you know...we know a lot more about this than you do."

Alex almost snorted. They just met Sully and yeah, he agreed to give them some tips, but would he really let them tag along, especially on a professional endeavor? Likely not.

"Hey, I mean, if your brother was alright with it, I wouldn't mind having a coupla extra hands. But we all know what he's going to say," Sully chuckled. "Sorry kids."

"So...if we could get him to say yes...?" Nate trailed.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

Sully was right. There was no way, not a single way they'd get Sam to say yes. Still, they could give it a try.

"Hmm...we could always try? Couldn't hurt," Alex suggested, shrugging. "When are you leaving?"

"Saturday, early morning, 'round five. Got a private flight from just outside the city, in Puerto Cospique. If you can convince Sam by Friday, you're in."

"Well...let's give it a try when Sam gets home, see where we get?" She looked at Nate, who shrugged.

"Yeah why not. But until then, what tricks have you got to teach us today, Sully?"

He laughed, taking a sip of his drink and placing it back on the table. "Eager, are we? Alright, finish up and I'll show ya a few things."

All of them quickly finished their food and once they were done, it was back to the old grind. They practiced a few lifts to show off to Sully and he remarked at how they were doing decently and corrected them here and there when needed. Eventually, they moved onto different techniques, especially those that had to do with lifting off people. By the end of the day, their pockets were considerably heavier, and she got to show off her lock picking skills to Sully, who had remarked how useful and quick she was.

They made sure to be done well before Sam would get home and once they had finished, they headed back to the apartment. There was a small debate on whether or not they should wait a day or two to ask Sam, but in the end they figured if he was going to say no, it wouldn't matter when they asked.

Once back at the apartment, they started up a game of Crazy Eights with the ragged pack of cards they left in the drawer. By the time that Sam got home, Nate had won two out of three rounds and she, flustered, blamed it on him cheating and slipping cards back and forth.

"Hey. How was work?" Nate asked as Sam walked in the door.

Sam groaned and closed the door behind him, depositing his things on the floor and plopping down on the couch. "Who's winning?"

"I am," Nathan said with a smirk.

"You mean, who's winning by cheating?" Alex grumbled, kicking him under the coffee table.

"C'mon Nate, be a gentleman and help the lady cheat too," Sam snickered.

"Pft I can cheat myself if I wanted. I was trying to play fair."

"Well, Alex, one thing you should know by now: the Drake's don't play fair."

"Like brother like brother." She huffed and rolled her eyes, shooting a look at her best friend.

He caught her eye and she nearly groaned. By now, the two of them were so in sync they needed only a look to exchange information and by the look he was giving her, she was supposed to be the one to ask Sam. He gestured to the cards and then smirked and she nearly kicked him again. She had to tell because she was losing. Ugh.

"Hey Sam?" she started, turning slightly on the spot.

"Yes, little brother's best friend?" he chuckled, rolling over so he was on his stomach and could look at her from his position on the couch.

"If you had the opportunity to go to Japan, would you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Kinda question is that? Course I would."

"Well," she went on tentatively, "what if I told you that we have one?"

There was a long pause as he stared at her and then he sat up, giving her a weird look. "You didn't steal tickets, did you?"

She snorted. "Course not. "

"Then where the hell did you get them?"

"Well...," she hesitated, shooting a look over at Nate. "Someone's looking for the Kusanagi sword and...well they've asked Sully to find it. And he's already heading over to Japan the end of the week. He offered for us to come, if you agree."

Sam stared at her as if she was growing two heads. "You just met him and he's offering to bring you two to Japan? Don't you think that's more than a little suspicious?"

"He offered to bring you too. He's only gonna let us go if you say yes," Nate said quickly.

"Hell to the no! I already told you, we can't trust him, and I told you not to go looking for him again!"

"Did you really expect us to listen?" Alex snorted, shaking her head.

"Well...well no, but..."

"Exactly. Come on, Sam! We might never get to go otherwise! And we're talking about finding the Kusanagi sword, do you know how valuable that is?"

"Yeah, okay, but that's not our fight. We're looking for what's _ours_ not chasing after a Japanese myth." Sam sighed in exasperation.

"It's just a detour, Sam. Francis Drake will still be waiting for us when we're done," Nathan assured.

"But what if he's not? Someone else out there might be on the trail. That woman, she's on the trail!"

"She can't go any further without the ring, and we've got that. Sam come on, Sully is a cool guy and this is a once in a lifetime thing!"

Alex could feel the tensions continually rising and although she and Nathan had good points, she could see it in Sam's face; he wasn't going to crack. Not on this thing.

"No. There will be other times. I don't trust Sullivan and you shouldn't either. We're _here_ for a reason. Ever since we left that orphanage. This is _our_ journey. And look, I have to be the one to look out for you two. I can't do that when you're running off on daytime adventures with Sullivan," Sam said firmly. "There's nothing more to talk about. That's that."

She saw Nate's chest deflate in defeat out of the corner of her eye, but Sam's words didn't bring her the same feeling. No, they fueled her, brought a deadly calm fire to her heart.

So, she drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Fine."

Both Sam and Nate did a double take. She was not one to back down so easily. They knew she had a stubborn streak in her and it took a lot to break her. But now, she wasn't breaking. Just being crafty. Time to take her own fate into her own hands.

"Did she just...?" Sam trailed, looking over at his brother.

"I think she did," Nate responded, still staring at her.

She let out a short huff. "I'm tired of fighting with you, Sam. If that's what you want then fine. Let me know when dinner's ready."

Without another word, she stood and trudged to her and Nate's room. There was only one room in the place and Sam had given it up to the two of them and slept on the couch outside. Inside their room, maps, notes, and all sorts of pictures and articles hung across the walls. Her mattress sat furthest from the door and she plopped down on it, waiting patiently for Nathan. Because she _knew_ he wasn't going to let her off the hook after that. He would want to know what was happening.

Just as she predicted, Nate opened up the door, his eyes finding her immediately. He shut the door and move forward, looking confused.

"You're seriously just going to give up?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

A small smirk came to her lips and she shook her head. "Course not. You should know me by now, Nate."

"Then what was that about? What do you have planned?"

"I'm going to Japan."

"And just how are we gonna do that if Sully won't let us without Sam?" Nathan put his hands on his hips.

"Sully doesn't have to know we're on that plane. As long as we get on before it takes off, we have a ride and once we're in Japan, there's nothing Sully can do about it," she said smugly.

"Are you...sure you wanna do that?"

"Of course. I want to explore the world and we have the opportunity so I'm taking it! Are you in?"

Nathan stood silently for a moment, obviously debating the issue in his head. Leaving meant not telling Sam and that was a huge dilemma for him. She understood that. But after a moment, he confirmed with a nod, his mischievous eyes meeting hers.

"I'm in. I can't leave you to go alone," he said.

"Hell yeah! We're going to Japan!"

* * *

 **A/N: It has been WAY too long. I seriously missed this fic so much and ever since Uncharted 4 came out my heart has just been in the fandom fully. I just can't get it off my mind, so I finally started writing again. This chapter has been pieced together over several weeks, so it may be a bit choppy, but I'm hoping it's okay. It's a bit on the short side, but next chapter is gonna be really fun and exciting so it'll be longer. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you all for sticking with this story despite the extremely sporadic updates. I'm going to try harder than ever to write consistently, because there's 3 sequels to this fic that need to be written and I don't wanna waste any time! Again, thank you guys, and hope to see you soon! :)**


	5. Plane Hijacking

**Chapter 4: Plane Hijacking**

The next few days were spent in preparation for their secret trip. Both Alex and Nathan had begun gathering - or more accurately, stealing - as much money as they could get their hands on. Sam acted suspicious for the first few days, but once nothing happened, he began to relax. The two of them made sure not to give even a hint of what they were doing and kept all of their stealings tucked away where he couldn't find them.

Earlier in the day, they gathered a decent stock of food and water for the long plane ride, and tomorrow morning, they would be sneaking on the plane. Neither of them really knew how they were going to do it, but if there was one thing for certain, Nathan was the king of improvising.

So that evening, they sat in their bedroom, making sure they had everything off the little checklist they wrote up earlier in the week. Sam was yet to be home, so they had a bit of freedom to speak normally and not in hushed whispers.

"Okay so you packed as much clothes as you could fit, right?" Alex questioned, looking down at his scribbled handwriting on the paper she held.

"I mean...more or less. We'll be able to wash our clothes, wherever we're staying," he huffed, pulling out a fresh journal from the stack beside his bed and scooping up a pencil.

"Okay but won't that cost us money? And we'll want to save as much as we can for emergencies?"

He scribbled on the first page, 'JAPAN', as well as the beginnings of a doodle. "Yeah but if we're with Sully, I'm sure that we won't have to worry too much. Relax, Alex. The only things we have left to pack are the maps and books."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright fine. So we're leaving by three forty-five, right? And once we get there-"

 _CLICK!_

Both of them froze and listened as Sam entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. In a mad scramble, she had stuffed her filled-to-the-brim backpack underneath the mess of blankets and pillows strewn across her bed. Nathan tucked the journal between the mattress and the floor. Before Sam could enter, each of them grabbed their trusty books, waiting for such an occasion to be used. His was on Francis Drake whereas hers was on ancient Greece.

As if on cue, Sam burst through the cracked door, sending a gust of air to ruffle her hair.

"Reading again? Surprised you guys are home so early," Sam commented, moving across the room and plopping on Nate's bed.

"Wanted to read up a bit more," Nate lied smoothly, putting the book on his stomach.

"Figures. If you aren't out on the street, you're reading. Or drawing."

"My drawings happen to be good!" Nathan countered, whacking Sam with his book.

Sam merely chuckled and ruffled his hair before getting up. "I'm gonna shower and then we can scrounge up something to eat. Maybe we can break out the monopoly board and we can pretend we're rich."

Alex couldn't help but snort behind her book. "Keep dreaming, Sammy."

"Hey, one day it'll happen! And I'll laugh and tell you I told you so."

He let the door swing shut behind him, but they didn't move until they heard the shower turn on.

"Monopoly is gonna take forever, you think he's gonna be out by the time we have to leave?" she asked, putting her book down.

"You're forgetting Friday night beer," Nathan pointed out.

"Right, right. He'll be out for a long time. Is there anything else we're forgetting?"

"Hm...I don't think so?"

She pursed her lips, trying to think over everything one last time. She swore they were forgetting something, besides all of the things they would have to pack right before they left...

"Ah! The note! Hold on," she murmured, reaching across the bed to get her own journal and pencil.

Tearing out a page, she leaned on her stomach and bit the end of the pencil, thinking. Nathan moved to hover over her shoulder as she pressed the writing utensil against the paper.

 _Dear Sammy,_

 _If you're reading this, we were successful hijacking Sully's plane and are on the way to Japan. Don't worry, we have plenty of money and we'll pop up on Sully once we arrive so we'll have a responsible adult taking care of us, even though we don't need one. But knowing you, you're likely infuriated and already planning on coming. So I guess we'll see you soon!_

 _Cheers from Japan!_

 _Alex & Nate_

Nathan snickered. "Perfect. Alright, let's go and get the monopoly board set up so it'll be ready."

Alex tucked the note under her pillow and shuffled out of bed, following her best friend. They kept the ratty old board games in the hall closet and monopoly was just at the bottom. They were able to get it out and set it up just before Sam got out of the shower.

The rest of the night was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Even with Sam drinking his weekend beer, he took longer to fall asleep than they wanted. She had narrowly beat him in monopoly, with Nate coming in dead last. Even an hour after Sam had fallen asleep, the two of them didn't dare move, not wanting to do anything that might cause him to stir.

Finally, after what seemed like a good amount of time, they slowly and carefully moved, heading back to the bedroom to pack the rest of their things. None of them spoke, and if they did, it was through hand gestures and eye glances. The maps on the wall on each side of the room were taken down and tucked away as well as any small photographs that were important. They wouldn't be going away forever but they wanted those memories with them.

It didn't take them much time at all to pack their leftovers and it wouldn't be worth it to sleep - they could do that on the plane. Time seemed to drag slowly, but once it was time, there was no hesitation. Nathan went first, creeping quietly out of the bedroom. Sam had rolled over on the couch so his back was to them and quiet snores escaped his lips. Definitely asleep.

They easily made it to the door and once they were out and had locked the door, the two bolted down the street.

"Ha! We're free now! Where'd you put your bike?" she questioned, slowing down a second and drawing in great gulps of air.

"Just around the back. C'mon, let's hurry," Nate urged, a huge grin splitting his lips.

Around the back of their apartment, chained to the lamp post, was Nate's old rickety bike. They hardly ever used it, but they'd need a little extra speed if they wanted to make it there at a decent time.

He unchained it and got comfortable on the seat. She took her respective spot, standing up on the hub on the back wheel and holding onto his shoulders. And just like that, they were off.

The wind whipped her hair back, giving her a bit of relief from the sticky evening heat. Everything around them encased in darkness, except for the small spots of light from the street lamps as they rode down the road, weaving in and out of the few cars that still lingered. A new feeling of total freedom hung in the air, fueling both of them as they left the city and headed toward their next adventure.

With a bike, the ride was significantly shorter than if they would have walked, and sooner or later, they found the small, private airport. In the runway was a small plane, the light from inside casting an eerie shadow across a small section of the ground. She checked Nathan's watch - half past four - and realized they only had a short period of time to get on the plane and hide before it would take off.

"Okay, so plan?" she asked, looking over at Nate.

"We'll need a distraction. Or at least the pilot to be distracted enough that we can get close. Wait. Look." He pointed, drawing her attention to another figure approaching.

"Sully. Alright. Hang on...follow my lead!"

Before he could question her, she started running from one side of the runway to the other, making sure to stay in the shadows to avoid being seen. On the other side of the plane, no one was watching or paying attention, so she was able to slip right up to the side of it.

"Quick, give me a boost!" she whispered, pointing to the window.

Nathan huffed and got down low enough that she could step up on his back like a table and peer into the window to see where they could hide and what their options were. The inside wasn't too large, but it wasn't small either. However it was connected to the cockpit and wherever they hid, they would have to be hidden well.

Sully suddenly entered and she ducked down, drawing in a sharp breath before peering in again. He had taken his suitcase and stuffed it in a large compartment that also acted as a seat. Even with his luggage inside...that would be big enough for the two of them to squeeze inside. After he tucked it away, he stepped back off the plane again, presumably to talk to the pilot.

"Got it!" she whisper-shouted, climbing off Nate, who huffed and rubbed his back. "There's a seat we can fit inside. We just need to distract."

Carefully, she went around to the back of the plane, peering around the side. To their sheer luck, both Sully and the pilot were faced the other way, both sharing a cigar and letting out a few laughs. Alex didn't even think. She just acted.

Like a cheetah, she zipped around the side and went straight for the opened door, climbing inside and stopping right in front of their hiding spot. Nathan had followed, though was much slower because she hadn't told him the plan. Wrenching open the storage space, she put her two feet in and sunk down, barely having enough room for Nate as he also sunk inside. Carefully, she closed the top down on them and shrouded them in darkness.

"Holy shit," she breathed, heart pounding a mile a minute. "We made it."

"A little warning next time would be nice," Nathan huffed. "We should have gotten in a more comfortable position, I'm squished."

"We can rearrange ourselves once the plane starts. We'd make too much noise otherwise."

He huffed and she rolled her eyes, breathing sharply as she tried to focus on anything but how uncomfortable this was. Her neck was awkwardly propped up against Sully's luggage with her and Nate's knees pressed together. If only Sam had agreed and they could be actually sitting instead of crammed into the storage compartment.

She stiffened when she felt the plane shift with the weight of the two men getting inside. Both of them waited with baited breath and after several tense minutes, the plane started up. The roar of the engine was particularly loud from where they were and she had to cover her hears until they adjusted. By then, the plane was shifting and though she had only been on a plane once before, she knew the feeling of a take off.

"Okay," she murmured. "We can probably shift around. Just give me a sec..."

As best as Alex could, she shifted to her side, trying not to bump into any of the walls in case she alerted Sully. It wasn't very easy. Several times, she ended up face-first in the wall or accidentally kicking Nate in all the wrong places. He chuckled at first when she was struggling, but after the first time she kicked him, he remained silent. Finally, after he shifted to help too, the two of them found a much more comfortable position side by side, facing each other and using their backpacks as pillows.

"I'd suggest playing cards or something to pass the time but it's kinda hard this way," Nathan laughed, his breath fanning her face.

"I think our best bet is to just try and sleep. We can get a few hours in and then we'll be there. Besides, we've slept in more uncomfortable ways than this," she pointed out.

"Good point. Alright. Next time we wake up, we'll be in Japan."

She couldn't help but smile, and his words never reigned truer. With the hum of the plane and the darkness of the compartment, it was easy to fall asleep. And she stayed asleep until bright light disturbed the darkness.

With a groan, she peeled her eyes open, moving a hand to cover her eyes. But she didn't need to see to know Sully's voice.

"You two have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

 **A/N: Another slightly short chapter but I didn't feel like Nate and Alex would have anything as big as Uncharted 3 plane hijacking yet haha. They still need to progress to that point. Plus I'm trying to at least keep updating somewhat regularly. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and commenting and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)**


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